Charles Marion Edwards(born September 13, 1960)[citation needed]is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative forNorth Carolina's 11th congressional districtsince 2023. A member of theRepublican Party,he represented the48thdistrict in theNorth Carolina Senatefrom 2016 to 2023.[1][2]
Chuck Edwards | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's11thdistrict | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Madison Cawthorn |
| Member of theNorth Carolina Senate from the48thdistrict | |
| In office August 19, 2016 – January 1, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Apodaca |
| Succeeded by | Tim Moffitt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Marion Edwards September 13, 1960 Waynesville, North Carolina,U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Teresa Edwards |
| Children | 2 (1 deceased) |
| Education | Blue Ridge Community College |
| Website | House website |
Early life and education
editEdwards was born inWaynesville, North Carolina.He graduated from West Henderson High School in 1978 and studied business, accounting, and marketing atBlue Ridge Community College.[3]
Career
edit
Edwards joinedMcDonald'sin 1989, working as an operations manager until 1991, senior business consultant from 1991 to 1996, and development coordinator from 1996 to 1998. He also worked as the vice president of Henderson County Partners for Economic Progress.[4]In 2013, he became a director of Entegra Financial Corporation.[5]In 2020, Entegra merged withFirst Citizens Bank.[6]
Edwards was appointed to the North Carolina Senate in August 2016 afterTom Apodacaresigned. He defeated Democratic nominee Norman Bossert in 2016, and was reelected in 2018 and 2020.[7]
U.S. House of Representatives
editElections
edit2022
editOn November 30, 2021, Edwards declared his candidacy forNorth Carolina's 11th congressional districtin the 2022 election.[8]The district was represented by freshman Republican incumbentMadison Cawthorn.Cawthorn faced numerous scandals, had made a number of controversial statements, and was criticized by Edwards as an ineffective legislator.[9]Edwards was also endorsed by U.S. SenatorThom Tillis.
On May 17, 2022, Edwards defeated Cawthorn in the Republican primary with 33.4% of the vote.[10]Although he lost 12 of the district's 15 counties, he carriedBuncombe,its most populous, by over 2,000 votes, exceeding his overall margin of 1,338. Edwards also defeated Cawthorn inHenderson Countyby 3,191 votes. Henderson County is home to both Edwards and Cawthorn.[11]
Political positions
editEdwards voted, with the 412-to-10 bipartisan majority, to provide Israel with support following the2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[12][13]
In January 2024, Edwards introduced legislation which would prevent immigrants from being counted by theUnited States census,for the purposes of determining theUnited States congressional apportionment.[14]In February 2024, Edwards posted a picture onXof a large migrant caravan in Mexico in order to criticize the immigration policies of theBiden administration,suggesting thatJoe Bidenwas at fault for the migrants in the picture immigrating to the United States. However, the picture was taken in 2018, during theadministrationofDonald Trump.[15][16]
Acting on a complaint filed by the Henderson County (North Carolina) Democratic Party, Edwards was sanctioned by the House of Representatives Communications Standards Commission on April 24, 2024, for making personal attacks against President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in email newsletters sent to constituents in May, June, July and December, 2023.[17]Such attacks are prohibited by federal law and by rules of the House of Representatives when they are sent out as "mass communications" at taxpayer expense.[18]
Electoral history
editU.S. House of Representatives
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chuck Edwards | 29,496 | 33.4 | |
| Republican | Madison Cawthorn(incumbent) | 28,112 | 31.9 | |
| Republican | Matthew Burril | 8,341 | 9.5 | |
| Republican | Bruce O'Connell | 6,037 | 6.8 | |
| Republican | Rod Honeycutt | 5,775 | 6.5 | |
| Republican | Michele Woodhouse | 4,668 | 5.3 | |
| Republican | Wendy Nevarez | 4,525 | 5.1 | |
| Republican | Kristie Sluder | 1,304 | 1.5 | |
| Total votes | 88,258 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chuck Edwards | 174,232 | 53.8 | ||
| Democratic | Jasmine Beach-Ferrara | 144,165 | 44.5 | ||
| Libertarian | David Coatney | 5,515 | 1.7 | ||
| Total votes | 323,912 | 100.0 | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
Personal life
editEdwards and his wife, Teresa, have had two children. In 2018, his 36 year old son died from a self-inflicted gunshot after a lengthy period of untreated depression.[19]
References
edit- ^"Chuck Edwards replaces Tom Apodaca, will complete Apodaca's term".WLOS News 13.Associated Press. August 24, 2016.RetrievedJune 13,2018.
- ^"Senator Chuck Edwards - Biography - North Carolina General Assembly".North Carolina General Assembly.RetrievedJune 13,2018.
- ^"Chuck Edwards".Ballotpedia.Retrieved2022-05-18.
- ^Moss, Bill (January 29, 2013)."Henderson County Business: Small business background preps Edwards for Chamber role - Hendersonville Lightning".hendersonvillelightning.Retrieved2022-05-18.
- ^"Charles Edwards' Biography".Vote Smart.Retrieved2022-05-18.
- ^"First Citizens Bank Completes Merger With Entegra Financial Corp., Entegra Bank".firstcitizens.Retrieved2022-05-18.
- ^"Chuck Edwards".Ballotpedia.RetrievedDecember 30,2021.
- ^King, Kimberly (November 30, 2021)."Republicans eye open seats after Sen. Edwards announces congressional run".WLOS News 13.RetrievedDecember 30,2021.
- ^"Rep. Madison Cawthorn's primary challenger Chuck Edwards wants to focus on results for North Carolina — not his opponent's many scandals".Business Insider.
- ^Ulloa, Jazmine (2022-05-18)."Madison Cawthorn loses his re-election bid after a deluge of scandals".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2022-05-18.
- ^"NC SBE Election Contest Details".
- ^Demir gian, Karoun (2023-10-25)."House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2023-10-30.
- ^Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (2023-10-25)."Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session".Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.Retrieved2023-10-30.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^King, Kimberly (January 25, 2024)."Congressman Chuck Edwards introduces legislation targeting immigrants".WLOS.RetrievedFebruary 14,2024.
- ^Zurick, Maura (February 13, 2024)."Republican Congressman's Meme About Border on Biden's Watch Backfires".Newsweek.RetrievedFebruary 14,2024.
- ^Moye, David (February 14, 2024)."GOP Rep. Blames Biden For Border Issues Using Pic Taken During Trump Era".Yahoo.RetrievedFebruary 14,2024.
- ^WLOS Staff (2024-04-25)."Rep. Chuck Edwards sanctioned by House commission over communications rules violation".WLOS.Retrieved2024-05-17.
- ^"The House of Representatives Communications Standards Manual"(PDF).
- ^"Today@NCCapitol: Moment of silence".WRAL.2018-05-22.Retrieved2022-05-18.